PPT2002: Compare and Merge Presentations Command Finds No Changes in Reviewed Presentation (285420)

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft PowerPoint, when you attempt to merge reviewed presentations, or two different presentations, by using the Compare and Merge Presentations command, the presentations may not merge as expected, and you may receive the following message:

User name made no changes to this presentation.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if you have saved multiple presentations for review and use the Compare and Merge Presentations command to merge two presentations from different original presentation sources.

The Compare and Merge Presentations command is designed to be used when the reviewed presentation is a modified copy of the current presentation. This command is not designed to combine two presentations that have different origins. Normally, if you attempt to merge a presentation with another presentation that has not been saved for review, you receive the following warning:

Microsoft PowerPoint

One or more of the presentations you selected was not sent by pointing to Send To on the File menu and then clicking Mail Recipient (for Review). If you still have a copy of the file as it was when you sent it out, you can browse for it now. Otherwise, changes you made since you sent these presentations may show up as Reviewer changes.

NOTE: When you click Continue, the presentations are merged, and all of the slides in the merged presentation are appended as reviewer changes.

However, if both presentations involved have been previously saved as Presentation for Review(*.ppt) files, you do not receive this warning, and the presentations are not compared and merged as expected.

This is because both presentations contain a baseline, and therefore PowerPoint assumes they are both from the same presentation source. A baseline is a copy of the original source presentation that is saved with any presentation that is sent for review. It is used during the compare-and-merge process.

RESOLUTION

You can remove the baseline from a presentation only by using Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code.

NOTE: If you remove the baseline from a presentation, it is no longer set up for review, and it does not merge properly with its original presentation source. Use the following method only if you must merge two dissimilar presentations and do not want to merge the presentation with its original source.

Open the presentation that you want to merge in PowerPoint. If you receive the following message, click No:
Microsoft PowerPoint

Do you want to merge changes in presentation_name back into Source_Presentation_Name?
On the Tools menu, click Macro, and then click Visual Basic Editor.
In the Visual Basic Editor, click View, and then click Immediate Window.

The Immediate window should appear at the bottom of the Visual Basic Editor.
In the Immediate window, type the following line of code, and then press the ENTER key:
```
activepresentation.removebaseline
					
```
Quit the Visual Basic Editor, and then save your presentation.

You should now be able to merge this presentation with your other presentation, regardless of whether the other presentation has a baseline. You may receive the warning mentioned in "Cause" section of this article, but that is normal.

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, manually combine two presentations without removing any baselines by using the Slides from Files command on the Insert menu:

Start PowerPoint, and then open the first presentation.
On the View menu, click Slide Sorter.
Find the slide after which you want to insert the second presentation, and then click to the right of this slide.
On the Insert menu, click Slides from Files.
Click Browse, select the second presentation, and then click Open.
Click Insert All, and then click Close.